The Gift
by Hooded Kaio Ghost
Summary: A fight with Control Freak turns into a hostage situation, with the lives of Robin and Starfire hanging in the balance.


This is dedicated to all those love struck Robin and Starfire shippers out there. I am not one, but I figured I'd write this story anyways.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, just the idea for this story.

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It was two days before Christmas and it seemed like it could not come soon enough. Titans Tower was decorated from top to bottom in Christmas décor. Everyone was in the spirit of the season, spreading peace on earth and goodwill towards all men, woman and aliens. However, there were two people not too intent on getting into the celebrating. Raven—who was not in the mood for celebrating, and Robin—who was scared to do anything. Though he wasn't scared of Christmas, but of what he was getting…for her. He looked at Starfire, dressed in her normal uniform but with a red and green scarf and red Santa hat. She looked beautiful, so beautiful that she stole his breath when he looked at her.

"And then, she said to him…It was not your chicken! It was my mother's husbands, grandmother's dogs' chicken!" Starfire laughed loudly, tears streaming out of her eyes. Cyborg and Beast Boy laughed along, not even sure what she said.

Robin smiled, staring at Starfire. He really hoped she would come over and invite him into the festivities. But how could he handle it, not even having bought her a present yet? As he was deep in his thoughts, someone spoke to him. "Robin."

He started out of his dreams and looked around. Raven was staring at him like he was the world's most interesting specimen. He felt embarrassed.

"What is it Raven?" He finally asked her.

"What's wrong?" She inquired.

"What are you talking about?" Robin said, trying not to look at Raven.

"Robin, if you think I believe you, then you don't know me." She told him.

Robin breathed deeply. "I know. I'm just really…I don't know I guess."

Raven looked at him for a moment, and then asked, "Is it about Starfire?"

Robin's face instantly colored and he wanted to hide under the chair he was sitting on. How could she know about his feelings? _Well, she is everywhere. _His mind told him.

"It could be about her." Robin saw the look on Raven's face and finally gave in. "Okay, it is about her. I haven't gotten her anything for Christmas yet."

"Is that all?" Raven asked.

"Yah." Robin answered.

"Honestly Robin, just because you haven't gotten her something yet doesn't mean anything, you still have two days anyways." Raven said, going back to her book.

"True, but what do you get the girl who has everything?" Robin wondered aloud, thinking of Starfire's beauty and strength.

"Something from your heart maybe?" Raven gave him "the look" and Robin knew that he needed to get up and do something because Raven was done playing counselor. He got up from his chair and started to pace the room, thinking of something from his heart that he could give Starfire.

"Robin? Why are you walking up and down the carpet?" A sweet voice asked him, suddenly jolting him from his thoughts.

"Star! Um, this is how I think?" Robin responded lamely.

"Really? May I join you in this fascinating process?" She asked.

"Actually, I think I'm done for now. You go ahead if you want, Star."

Robin retreated quickly from the room, not even noticing the disappointment on Starfire's face.

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"Why am I acting like this? I am not an emotional person!" Robin said angrily, slamming his fist on a table in the crime lab.

"What is wrong with me?" Robin moaned, bending over the table.

Suddenly, the tower's alarm went off. Robin went running out of the crime lab and into the OPS room as fast as he could. Beast Boy and Raven were already at the controls. Starfire and Cyborg ran into the room seconds after Robin.

"Report!" Robin ordered.

"There's been an attack on the First National Bank and the underground subway station." Raven reported.

"By who?" Robin asked.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Control Freak."

Everyone groaned. "Is he even worth fighting?" Cyborg asked Robin.

"Even if it's Control Freak, he's still attacking the city. We have to stop him." Robin replied. "TITAN'S GO!"

They all took off running for the elevator, feeling less excited to fight than usual.

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"We'll split up. Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy head for the bank. Cyborg and I will go to the subway station." Robin told everyone.

"Robin?" Starfire said.

"Yes?" Robin replied.

"I request permission to go with you in Cyborg's stead." Starfire told him.

Robin felt his stomach knot. He looked around at the others for some sort of reason why he should deny Starfire. No reason came.

"Alright. Cyborg will go with Raven and Beast Boy. Titans, move out."

Raven took off into the air in an instant; Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl and grabbed hold of Cyborg, and started flying after Raven. Robin looked at them with feelings of reluctance, wishing that Starfire hadn't asked to go with him.

"We need to get to the subway station." Robin informed Starfire. "Could give me a lift?"

Starfire nodded. She lifted into the air and reached a hand out to Robin. He took it and they started flying.

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"You'll never catch me Titans! I am Control Freak and I will rule you!" Control Freak laughed manically, shooting blue laser beams at Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg with his remote.

"I thought we could handle him." Raven commented dryly.

Cyborg jumped behind the bank's counter and dodged a shot aimed for him. "We could. Until that freaky monster got pulled from another dimension."

"AHHHHHH!" Beast Boy screamed.

Raven jumped up from behind the counter and thrust a shield over Beast Boy, just as the huge creature tried to hit him. It couldn't penetrate the shield and was thrown backwards.

"You will never succeed Titans! You are no match for my superior brain!" Control Freak shouted at them.

"If his brain is superior than I owe Beast Boy an apology." Raven commented, flying into the air and shooting a table at Control Freak. He stepped to the right and watched the table hit the wall. He looked at Raven and spat his tongue at her. She went charging after him.

"Run, run as fast as you can! But you can't catch me! I'm Control Freak!" Control Freak cackled.

"Dude, that doesn't even rhyme!" Beast Boy pointed out.

"He's evil B! Of course it doesn't rhyme!" Cyborg yelled at Beast Boy.

Beast Boy and Cyborg went after Control Freak, as he continued to taunt and irritate them. The fight was not boding well.

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Starfire touched down outside of the subway station and let go of Robin. It was completely silent. Robin looked around.

"It's way too quiet. I thought Control Freak was attacking here." He thought aloud.

"Perhaps it was a false alarm?" Starfire suggested.

"Maybe." Robin scrutinized the area. "We should still check it out."

They cautiously walked down the steps and into the underground subway station. It was empty and perfectly free of any damage. Robin couldn't understand it.

"Robin, I do not understand. If Control Freak was attacking here, why did he leave no damage?" Starfire asked Robin.

Robin gazed around the platform. "I'm not sure that Control Freak was ever here. Maybe it was just a glitch in the alarm."

He knelt down and examined the ground. "But what if someone hacked into the system? What if they made it look like there was an attack? But if that's true, that would mean that this is a trap!"

Suddenly, a massive black creature materialized out of thin air. Starfire screamed and threw a starbolt at it. The creature dodged the blast and went after Starfire. Robin tried to run after her, but a huge boulder was suddenly thrown in his path. Robin turned to see a huge monster that was made of rock and Control Freak.

"Hello Robin! Glad to see that you could make it!" Control Freak laughed nastily. The creature charged Robin. He jumped out of the way and threw an electric disk at the creature. It howled in anger as the disk exploded. Suddenly, Starfire screamed again and Robin went running after her.

Starfire hurled blast after blast at the creature, but it kept going after her. It suddenly lashed out and hit her against the wall. All the air was knocked out of her and she felt pain surge through her. It picked her up and hit her on the wall again. More pain coursed through her body. She tried to use her strength to fight the creature, but it seemed to have left her. She couldn't summon anything to her aid. The creature picked her up for the last time and hit her against the wall. Starfire fell down and slipped into unconsciousness.

"NO!" Robin shouted. He lunged at the creature. It slammed him against the wall. Robin struggled hard but a sudden electric shock zapped him and he was knocked out.

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"Ha ha ha! Am I too much for you Titans?" Control Freak aimed his remote at the three Titans and fired off several red shots. Raven forced a shield in front of them and shouted, "Cyborg, do something!"

"Okay Rae." Cyborg whispered something to Beast Boy. Beast Boy nodded.

"We have a plan Raven!" Beast Boy told her.

"That's great. What is it?" Raven asked.

"Drop the shield and keep Control Freak busy. I've got him." Cyborg told her.

Raven nodded and dropped the black shield around them. Cyborg took off running and Beast Boy morphed into a rhino and charged Control Freak. Control Freak shot Beast Boy with his remote and hit him into a wall. Raven's hands crackled with her black magic and she chanted, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

She raised a safe into the air and flung it at Control Freak. He spun gracefully out of the way and pressed a button on his remote. Little red monsters with very sharp teeth materialized out of nowhere and started to chase Raven. Beast Boy ran after her, being chased by several more. Control Freak laughed psychotically and shouted,

"You cannot defeat me! I am invincible and I control the universe! You will all bow before my powerful genius and…"

He was cut off as a blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon hit him in the back. Control Freak was blown onto the floor and stared at Cyborg in shock. "You can't defeat me! I'm Control Freak! I will crush you!"

"You mean with this?" Cyborg held up his remote. Control Freak's eyes widened. "NOOOO! My remote! I can't live without my remote!"

Cyborg pressed a button and Control Freak was suddenly trapped in a giant bubble. He shouted and kicked but he couldn't get out. Cyborg pointed the remote at the red monsters surrounding Raven and Beast Boy and pressed another button. The monsters disappeared.

"Alright Cy!" Beast Boy cheered, coming up and slapping Cyborg's hand.

"Is it safe to leave him in there?" Raven asked, looking at the bubble.

"Don't worry. It's his creation; I doubt he can get out. Now we just need to give him to the police and go find Robin and Star." Cyborg said.

Raven used her power and levitated Control Freak into the air. Cyborg pocketed the remote and they all left the bank.

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Robin slowly opened his eyes and had to look twice. He was in a huge tube in the middle of a warehouse.

"What the…where am I?" He said, staring out of the tube.

Someone moaned next to him and Robin looked down. Starfire was lying on the bottom of the tube, holding her head. "Are you okay, Star?" Robin asked.

"I am undamaged, but I am confused. Where are we?" Starfire inquired.

I'm not sure. It looks like we're in a warehouse somewhere." Robin told her.

"But how did we get here?" Robin said.

"It's simple really. I brought you here." A calm voice spoke from the darkness.

"Who is that? Why are you keeping us in here?" Robin shouted angrily.

The figure stepped out of the shadows and they both recognized Control Freak.

"Release us!" Starfire ordered.

"Sorry. I didn't go to all the trouble of planning this to just let you go." Control Freak said.

"Somehow Control Freak, you don't seem like the type who plans anything." Robin commented.

Control Freak grinned. "Very clever Robin. Have you also noticed that I was attacking two places at once? Now how could I do that?"

"With your remote." Robin replied.

He laughed wickedly. "No Robin, this remote can't do something like that. It isn't capable of it."

"Well than how could you manage it? Did you borrow technology from Billy Numerous?" Robin inquired.

"If I had his technology, I would have made more than two copies of myself." Control Freak pointed out.

"But then…"

"…how did I do it? It's fairly simple Robin. I'm not Control Freak." Suddenly, the small sinister form melted away and left the tall, beautiful figure of a woman. Her long black hair fell around her shoulders, and her dark eyes glittered with malice.

"Hello Robin. Remember me?" She asked, a small smile on her face.

"Blackfire?" Robin said.

"Ah, it seems you do remember." Blackfire noticed, gracefully walking over to the tube. She saw Starfire's glowing green eyes and laughed. "And I remember you. How long has it been since you banished me from Tameran, sister dear?"

Starfire growled. "Not long enough."

"Well then, why don't we get to know one another again?" Blackfire smirked at them, and then levitating into the air, she assumed a sitting position and stared at Robin and Starfire.

"Star, move!" Robin ordered. He reached for his utility belt and then drew in a short breath. "Where is my belt?"

"Oh, you mean this?" Blackfire waved his belt at him.

"Star, blast us out of here!" Robin shouted.

Starfire's hands began to glow a bright green and she shot a starbolt at the top of the tube. The starbolt bounced and hit Starfire. She fell onto the bottom of the tube and groaned in pain.

Blackfire laughed. "I should warn you, the tube you're in is specifically designed to not be affected by your powers. Didn't I think of everything?"

Robin growled. "What do you want with us? What is the point of all this?"

"I'm glad you asked Robin, because I have something to show you." Blackfire levitated over to her console and pressed a flashing red button. A projection started to play on a screen that hung on the wall. It was mostly drawings and several hundreds of math calculations.

"Ever since I was cruelly banished from my home world, I searched for a way to make my dear sister pay for what she had done to me. And finally, I found one." A drawing of the tube came onto the screen.

"The tube you are in is made of the hardest substance ever found anywhere. Crystalline Tendrium I believe it was. It's only found in the Galnar system. I had several good friends of mine make this tube and then connect it to this city's water supply. Remember how you can't get out of the tube? Well, my plan is to fill the tube up with a very special type of water, water that if it comes in contact with anyone will cause a terrible sickness to come. It is deadly and will kill slowly and with great pain. And since you two are in the tube, well, it doesn't look too good for you."

The projection turned off and Blackfire turned to face the two trapped teenagers. Looks of horror and absolute fear were coming to both their faces.

"How can you do such a terrible thing? I thought that such evil was far beyond you sister!" Starfire yelled.

Blackfire smiled nastily at her. "Well then, you thought wrong."

"You won't get away with this Blackfire! The other Titans will find us! Your plan will fail!" Robin shouted angrily.

Blackfire threw her head back and laughed. "Save your heroic words Robin, they won't do you any good anyways." She gazed at them and a dark look came to her face. "I am going to kill you, and there is nothing you or anyone else can do to stop me."

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I hope you enjoyed reading this and will review this first chapter. I know it's not near Christmas, but the idea for this came to me in a dream, so I decided to write it. Even though I'm not wild over it, I hope it turns out well. Have a great summer!


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